Campfire
by rainingmist08
Summary: After one too many fights between Saruhiko and Misaki, their clansmen decide they've had enough of their antics and send them away for the weekend with their kings forbidding the use of any clan powers. Light SaruXMisaki. Rated T for swearing.


Disclaimer: Do not have any rights to K or its characters.

Bonfire – K- Saru x Yata

"Oi, Monkey!" Hurry your lazy ass up." A short, thin red headed teen yells impatiently at his taller dark haired companion.

Grumbling, the other teen replies "I'll be there in a second" as he lifts a heavy pile of firewood and kindling. "Be patient. Mi-sa-ki" is drawled out as an afterthought to annoy the redhead.

Bristling Misaki demands "don't call me by that name!" but grudgingly waits for the taller of the two to bring the wood. When the wood is dropped next to the fire pit, Misaki grabs many of the larger pieces ignoring the kindling. As he raises his hand and begins to summon his power as a member of the Red Kings clan, his companion grabs his wrist to stop him.

"Tch. Did you forget already Misaki we are not to use our powers this weekend?"

"What? Saru you can't be serious." Misaki complains more annoyed by the limit on his powers than the other calling him by his first name. "I thought they meant we couldn't use them against each other."

Saru sighs in exasperation "they said we are not to use clan powers at all. End of discussion Mi-sa-ki."

Face flushed red in irritation, Misaki yells at Saru standing just a few feet away "bastard my name is Yata! This is bullshit. Can't use my powers my ass. You're full of shit you damn monkey!"

Saru looks immensely bored and uninterested in what is happening before him. "Then do you concede to admit you can't go camping or even build a fire without using your powers? Pathetic Mi-sa-ki" he drawls out in a flat voice knowing just how much to push and goad the other into doing what he wants him to.

Misaki is fuming with his hands balled into shaking fists trying his best not to hit the stupid monkey or blast him with his red power just to make the insufferable guy shut up and to stop looking at him like he's helpless. "Fine" he is able to grit out after a few moments of reigning his temper back "where is the damn lighter?"

"In the top left pocket of my back pack are some matches" Saru watches in amusement, though one wouldn't be able to tell from looking at his impassive face, as Misaki twitches at the mention of having to use matches.

A quietly grumbled "what is this? The stone age?" under Misaki's breath is barely heard. When Misaki is walking back to the fire pit with a box of matches in hand, he sees Saru walking away from their camping site and towards the entrance to the campground. "Monkey! Where the hell do you think you're going? Get your ass back here!"

Saru doesn't stop or slow his relaxed pace, but does tilt his head until he sees the grouchy red head "bathroom." He ignores Misaki's complaints and leaves him to build the fire. An easy task in his opinion.

For Misaki however it isn't so easy as he has never made a fire without his powers before…or ever for that matter. Living in a city doesn't exactly give one many opportunities to learn. Sure he can easily set things on fire with the power he has, but with matches and firewood well he'll try his hardest so Saru can't mock him. He glares something fierce at the wood blaming it for his troubles for a few seconds. "Shit" he sighs squatting down and grabbing a handful of kindling knowing it's there for a reason. What that reason is escapes him, but he is not about to ask Saru, so instead he drops the kindling in his hand over the wood already in the pit then pulls out his first match. It takes him a few tries and matches until he is able to light one without breaking the thin stick in the striking process. Briefly he entertains the idea of just using his power while Saru is gone, but he has a distinct feeling that Saru will be able to tell. Misaki takes his time to look at the scorch marks adorning many pieces of wood. Deciding to keep trying to light the burnt areas should go better than trying an unmarked section each time, he light another match and holds it in place. He watches with increasing irritation as the match burns out only leaving a larger chard area. He tosses the match aside and reaches for another.

Before he can pick out another match, the box is snatched out of his hand making him jump and turn around to see Saru scold him "stop wasting matches."

"Shut up stupid monkey!" Misaki snarls about at the end of his limited patience "not my fault the fucking wood doesn't burn. You get defective wood or something?"

"Tch. Have you ever made a fire without your powers?" Saru asks, but is almost positive the answer will be no.

"Shut the hell up monkey! That's not the point." The read head is fuming not able to deny it, but also not wanting to admit that he can't build a fire from scratch. Least of all to Saru.

Saru sighs in exasperation, but can't really say he expected anything different. Crouching down, he grabs the old newspaper from the pile of wood he originally dropped which Misaki failed to notice and carefully tears it into long strips. Once done, he sets the shredded paper down and picks the wood out of the fire pit until it's all removed. He explains "first you want to put some kindling down across the bottom of the pit so when you layer the newspaper, kindling and larger pieces on top the fire can get more air from underneath. This way it has less of a chance to suffocate and die. Next layer the kindling and newspaper together until you have quite a few layers that have some gaps between them so air can help the fire burn. Then slowly add larger and larger pieces, but make sure they don't smother the kindling and newspaper underneath or the fire will burn out." As he explains, Saru methodically builds up a rough cone shaped stack of firewood with kindling and newspaper at the bottom and core with plenty of space to insert a match and room for air to filter through to provide the needed oxygen the campfire will need. When he is satisfied with his set up, he stands back and tells Misaki to "light some of the newspaper at the very bottom."

Misaki grumbles about bossy insufferable bastards, but complies striking a match and lighting the newspaper. Part of him wishes it won't work so he won't feel as incompetent and idiotic as he does right now, but can't help but watch in awe as the small flame quickly devours the first small piece of newspaper. The flame grows and ignites more paper. The redhead watches as the kindling darkens to black then continues to burn even after the newspaper shrivels up and stops supplying a burning flame, soon the larger chunks of split wood are burning and Misaki can feel the heat radiating away from the fire that is gradually growing more intense with each passing moment. It is obvious now that the fire is up and going, not about to burn out as soon as all his previous attempts.

Saru watches the fire burn higher and Misaki enraptured by it. He tries to recall how exactly they ended up in this campground in the middle of nowhere with each other for the weekend and ordered by his king to not leave and have some 'bonding time' with Misaki. As well as order from his king to not use any clan powers and he's sure he heard the lieutenants name somewhere in the explanation he didn't care to listen to along with Anna and Kusanagi's names. He has a sneaking suspicion that the lieutenant seemed to be looking for a way to get him out of the office lately as she had been complaining about his behavior more than usual (but he doesn't seem to think anything has changed). As for Miskai the simpleton is easily aggravated and can get onto anyone's nerves and is easily backed into verbal traps. He caught Misaki grumbling about Kusenagi earlier about something involving a man's pride and honor or some other nonsense that lead to the both of them cornered here by their respective clans. Saru won't admit it, but seeing as it's just him and Misaki and no one else least of all other clan members, he really doesn't mind. As Misaki is one of the very few…or maybe the only person he can stand to be around for long periods of time without becoming painfully bored or massively irritated with. There is just something about the lithe red head that captivates Saru.

When the fires flames start reaching dangerously close to catching the oblivious red head on fire, Saru sits down on a log laying a few feet from the fire pit. Reaching over to his shorter companion, he grabs his shirt and yanks him away. His strength tilts Misaki backwards and off balance so the guy stumbles until the wooden bench catches him just below his knees and he sits roughly down.

A yelp escapes him and when he is no longer trying to steady himself, Misaki turns and glares at Saru sitting next to him "what the hell was that for shitty monkey?!"

Saru shrugs "you were about to catch on fire."

"You could have just told me like a normal person" Misaki grips, but knows Saru is not a normal person. His glance to Saru shows him an impassive face, with a single raised eyebrow. The shorter man harrumphs and kicks his feet up on the bench and leans back so Saru is supporting his back keeping him upright.

A "tch" comes from Saru, but nothing more as both lapse into a comfortable silence enjoying the peace, crackling fire, and each other's steady company.


End file.
